The People vs. Andy Reid: The Evidence

The number of indictments we have against Andy Reid are numerous. For example, the complete eradication of the team's identity. There's also the horrendous drafts and personnel decisions. Yet there are some in the court of public opinion who would still appeal our verdict of Reid being fired. They say look at his resume and of course the tired "careful what you wish for" excuse.

Today I'm going to show everyone that numbers don't lie. I'm here to give some DNA evidence if you will. I'd like to thank Cold Hard Football Facts.com for these numbers.

First, we have Scorability. This measures offensive efficiency, or how effectively teams turn yards into points. The Eagles currently 31st in this category. You get this number by dividing Yards Gained on Offense by Points Scored. The Eagles have gained 3306 yards but have a measly 154 points to show for it. So they need 21.54 yards of offense to score ONE point. For a TD and PAT they would need to 150.8 yards to score. That's 1.5 football fields and a lot of wasted effort.

What about the defense? Not much better. For this we have Bendability. This measures defensive efficiency, or how hard teams make opponents work to score points. The Eagles rank 25th. Bendability is defensive yards given up divided by points yielded. Opponents have only needed 13.76 yards of offense to score 1 point on the Eagles. Or 96.32 yards for a TD and PAT. Too easy.

The Chiefs actually rank the lowest in both categories but they don't have the talent. It's understandable. The Eagles, on the other hand, are perfectly talented, but have failed miserably in execution.

To sum it all up, the best and most well-coached teams will rank high in both of these stats and vice-versa. Poor red zone offense and defense, bad penalties, turnovers and under-achieving special teams all conspire to hijack a team's efficiency -- and even its season.

The Eagles are the living embodiment of inefficiency: a lot of empty wasted yards on offense that don't translate into points paired with a lot of cheap scores surrendered on defense

I think all of us besides possibly one barker agree it is time to move on. Reid is not even close to the same coach that helped take the Eagles to all those NFC championships and division titles. His game has gotten old, he's too stubborn to change and he may have let his personal problems get in the way of being a good coach in the NFL. He will be gone at the end of the year and I'll be looking forward to seeing how Lurie and Roseman handle the change. Nothing we can do but hope they make the right choice.

When it comes down to it I don't think you will ever get those "be careful what you wish for" people to ever change despite how much evidence is presented to them. They live their sports life in fear. That will never change.

There is always a chance for something worse later, but there is also a chance for something better. I am one of those people who believe once a conclusion is made (like Reid can't win the big one here) there is no reason to go any further in that direction. In fact the longer we take to move from the direction the longer it will be before we can get where we want to be. Anymore Reid will be a waste for both parties.

We heard the "careful what you wish for" comments ad nauseum before the McNabb trade especially from the national media. Annoyed me then and it annoys me now. 11 years same quarterback same results. 14 years same coach same results...time to move on!

It is possible but you will never get some of those fans who believe McNabb carried the Eagles on his shoulders (not going to type it, Eazy) to ever admit that. McNabb was a good quarterback who had some faults just like Reid was good coach who had shortcomings of his own. Maybe the faults of both these men were just too much to overcome when it mattered most. Seems that way to me.

A lot of his yards were probably losses where he had to throw because the Redskins were behind, hollywood. Check back on his numbers that season. He started 13 games and I'm pretty sure they were the first 13 before he was benched. If that is the case he did throw for 3,300 yards but he only had 14 TDs and 15 picks. He couldn't get his team in the endzone which is what matters when winning games, isn't it? The Redskins NEVER scored more than 19 in his 5 wins and the 19 was an overtime win. The most points he put up were in the second Philly game (28) when the Eagles blew Washington out right from the start. The McNabb led Redskins only averaged 16.5 points per game and as we see here in Philly that is just not enough.

You told us all right here on yardbarker that he would win with Shanahan, hollywood. Players almost never call each other out nor do they want to admit that aren't getting it done. What do you expect them to say? Listen to you anyway with all your silly, oddball predictions and comments that go against all things human let alone the media and the analysts who diagnose and discuss football for a living.

His record as a starter. His coach basically calling him fat and stupid. His being demoted to third string! His subsequent release. The fact the fan base was glad he left. Is there anything else you want to know?

Are you really going to try to say the Redskin fans weren't happy to see him go?...and you state that I try to mislead? Do you really pay attention to football or are you just trying to lead a crusade against Lurie and the Eagles for some strange reason? My brother lives outside of DC in Virginia and he told me that many of the fans were upset with the trade to aquire McNabb...why the hell would they change their view after 5-8 as a starter and 16.5 points per game? I'm pretty sure that the only Redskin barker we see in this yard (beery, I think) isn't a McNabb fan at all. You fib, hollywood...you fib.

The team hasn't been the same since JJ passed. I'm all for change if it will help in the long run. And hopefully the next coach we get lights a fire under this team. I'd still love to see a 3-4 defense installed. Almost every year the top defenses are of this type, and perhaps it's time to change philosophy altogether?

I just checked nfl.com and out of the top 15 defenses (points allowed per game) 12 of the 15 were 3-4. Coincidence? Probably not.

Unfortunately I don't think Cowher has a shot in Philly for two reasons. The first is Lurie has already stated after Ray Rhodes he will never again go with a defensive minded coach and the second is I think Cowher is looking to coach the Panthers.

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